Functions of Attitude

Daniel Katz classified attitudes into four different groups based on their functions

1. Utilitarian: provides us with general approach or avoidance tendencies
2. Knowledge: help people organize and interpret new information
3. Ego-defensive: attitudes can help people protect their self-esteem
4. Value-expressive: used to express central values or beliefs

Utilitarian People adopt attitudes that are rewarding and that help them avoid punishment. In other words any attitude that is adopted in a person's own self-interest is considered to serve a utilitarian function. Consider you have a condo, people with condos pay property taxes, and as a result you don't want to pay more taxes. If those factors lead to your attitude that " Increases in property taxes are bad" you attitude is serving a utilitarian function.

Knowledge People need to maintain an organized, meaningful, and stable view of the world. That being said important values and general principles can provide a framework for our knowledge. Attitudes achieve this goal by making things fit together and make sense. Example:

• I believe that I am a good person.
• I believe that good things happen to good people.
• Something bad happens to Bob.
• So I believe Bob must not be a good person.

Ego-Defensive This function involves psychoanalytic principles where people use defense mechanisms to protect themselves from psychological harm. Mechanisms include:

• Denial
• Repression
• Projection
• Rationalization

The ego-defensive notion correlates nicely with Downward Comparison Theory which holds the view that derogating a less fortunate other increases our own subjective well-being. We are more likely to use the ego-defensive function when we suffer a frustration or misfortune.

Value-Expressive

• Serves to express one's central values and self-concept.
• Central values tend to establish our identity and gain us social approval thereby showing us who we are, and what we stand for.

An example would concern attitudes toward a controversial political issue.

(source-wikipedia)

Shanghai Co-operation Organization

The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) is an intergovernmental organization composed of China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan founded in Shanghai in 2001. 

• Originally formed as a confidence-building forum to demilitarize borders, the organization's goals and agenda have since broadened to include increased military and counterterrism cooperation and intelligence sharing. 
•  The SCO has also intensified its focus on regional economic initiatives like the recently announced integration of the China-led Silk Road Economic Belt and the Russia-led Eurasian Economic Union.
• Except for Uzbekistan, the other countries had been members of the Shanghai Five, founded in 1996; after the inclusion of Uzbekistan in 2001, the members renamed the organisation.

Structure:-  

• The SCO has two permanent headquarters, the Secretariat in Beijing and the "Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure (RATS)" in Tashkent, the Uzbek capital. 
• One of the organization's primary objectives is promoting cooperation on security-related issues, namely to combat the "three evils" of terrorism, separatism, and extremism. 
• The organization adopts decisions made by consensus, and all member states must uphold the core principle of non-aggression and non-interference in internal affairs.

• It was initially focused on Central Asia.
• It has Afghanistan and Iran with observer status. 
• India & Pakistan has got full membership in 2015 with formalities pending. 
• Turkey and Belarus as dialogue partners.
• It has collaborated through MoUs with Eurasian Countries.
• SCO is an important organization for Afghanistan Issue (to find solution)

Aims :-

1. Economic Development 
2. Close Political Co-operation

(Central Asia is landlocked and has no access to the world's market)

In last conference , SCO opened itself for membership and laid down guidelines.

# Last year India announced its central Asia policy named as Connect Central Asia.

Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA)

• EIA seeks to consider the probable consequences of human intervention in the environment to restrict the environmental damage.
• In EIA , an inventory of pollutants is prepared in which an account is maintained of inputs and outputs. It is also known as environment auditing.
• On the basis of standards laid down by the govt. the positive and negative consequences of the conceived project on economy , society, and ecology are assessed.
• EIA is a compulsory requirement before any major or medium project is installed. e.g, Power Plants, Highways, airports etc.
• On the basis of EIA , it is ascertained that the project is economically viable, socially acceptable and ecologically sustainable.

The Representation of the People Act, 1951

• The Act provides for the conduct of elections to the Houses of Parliament and to the house or houses of the State legislatures.
• Provides for the qualifications and disqualifications for membership of these houses.
• Provides for the corrupt practices and other offences at or in connection with such elections
• Provides for the decision of doubts and disputes arising out of or in connection with such elections.
• The RPI Act contains 32 sections in 5 parts.

Attitude

Attitude:-

An attitude is an expression of favor or disfavor toward a person , place, thing or event (the attitude object).

Attitude can be formed from a person's past and present.

Attitude is also measuarble and changeable as well as influencing the person's emotion and behavior.

Attitude Structure:-

Tripartite view of William J McGuire

1. Cognitive 
2. Affective
3. Behavioral

# Attitude can also be Positive and Negative

Ethics

Ethics is a set of principles of right conduct. It has been defined as a set of values and principles which helps guide behavior, choice and actions. It helps to decide whether ones' actions are right or wrong. Organizations as well as individuals have ethical standards. 

Ethics:-

• is a system of moral principles.
• affects how people make decisions and lead their lives
• concerned with what is good for individuals and society
• it is also described as moral philosophy.

Approaches to Ethics:-

Ethical theories are divided into three parts-

1. Meta Ethics- It deals with the nature of moral judgement. It looks at the origin and meaning of ethical principles.
2. Normative Ethics- It is concerned with the content of the moral judgments and criteria for what is right and what is wrong.
3. Applied Ethics-It looks at controversial topics like war , animal rights and capital punishment.

Water Management

In India, earlier the focus was on Water Resource Development & extraction through large dams or drilling deeper for groundwater.
Now , the focus has shifted towards management of the Groundwater in a more sustainable manner through Participation. (Participatory Approach)

Some of the things worth a look are :-

• National Irrigation Management Fund
• Command Area Development Program
• National Acquifier Management Program
• Draft National water Framework Law

Procedure for Creation of New States

• Art. 3 of the Indian Constitution provides that an Ordinary Bill has to be introduced in either house of the Parliament with prior recommendation of the President to create a new state.
• Further, the President has to seek the views of the affected state within a specified time frame.
• However, even if the concerned state legislature expresses its views to the contrary , Parliament can still go ahead and pass the legislation to create a new state.
• A similar process is required to change areas , boundaries and name of the state.
• Thus creation of a state by making a law by Parliament does not amount to amendment in the constitution. This is done by Ordinary Legislation.

#In US federal system the consent of the state legislature is compulsory. 

• The provision of overriding power of the Parliament was meant for emergency purposes only and not in ordinary case as expressed by Dr. B R Ambedkar in constitutional debates. So not taking the consent of the state legislature will be harmful for our federal structure.

# The first State Reorganization Commission under the chairmanship of Fazl Ali (with members - K M Panikker and H N Kunzru) submitted its report in 1955 and suggested linguistic Reorganization of States.

Rotterdam Convention

The 1998 Rotterdam Convention was established in order to monitor and control the trade in certain hazardous chemicals.

• The convention was meant as an instrument that could provide importing parties with the power to make informed decisions on which chemicals they want to receive and to exclude those that can not be safely managed.
• A process termed as Prior Informed Consent (PIC) is regulated under the convention. 
• This involves a mutual information exchange of all issues regarding the trade of hazardous chemicals (including POPs).

• The convention entered into force in 2004.

Chemical Weapons

Chemical Weapons:-

Any device that uses chemicals to inflict injuries to human beings qualifies as a chemical weapon.
Some examples of chemical weapons are mustard gas, nerve gas, agent orange used by US in Vietnam etc.

• The toxic component in such a weapon is called chemical agent.
• Depending on the mode of action and impact these chemical agents could further be categorized as choking, blistering , blood, nerve, riot control agents.
• Depending on the extent of their impact some of these weapons also qualify as weapons of mass destruction.

#After the first world war , Geneva Protocol  was signed in 1925, which prohibited the use of Chemical Weapons but it did not prohibit the production and stockpiling of these weapons , so the protocol was not effective in stopping the military scale production of chemical weapons.

#Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) , a disarmament agreement which was adopted in 1992 prohibits the use of these weapons.

#Organization for Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) got the Nobel Peace Prize 2013 for its role in prohibition of chemical weapons.

SWF for India (INOIC)

The Indian government is setting up a company- India Overseas Investment Corporation (INOIC) under the Finance Ministry on the lines of a Sovereign Wealth Fund (SWF) to lend financial muscle for securing access to overseas natural resources.

INOIC:

• It will be established as an NBFC under RBI with paid up capital of Rs. 10 Cr.
• Company can raise funds through rupee bonds with sovereign guarantee.
• Established out of - Surplus profit of PSUs
• Prime Objective- Access to critical natural resources including oil, gas fertilizers etc.
• Time Horizon- Long Term
• Financial Goals- Security of access more than return

# Conventional SWFs focus on better returns on foreign exchange reserves of central bank so INOIC aim will be slightly different from SWFs.